The childhood of two brothers, Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Jem (Sean Bean) Stoker, was marked by violence, severity, and religious fanaticism. While Ray lives a life of self-imposed exile in a lonely forest cabin, Jem seeks solace in his deep faith, his partner Nessa, and his foster son Brian. When a family crisis brings the brothers back together after twenty years of silence, they are forced to confront the demons of their past.